Page 213 of Born of Blood and Ash

“My brain would like to disagree with that assumption.” Itilted my head to the side. In the darkness, I could see that his eyes wereclosed. “And how did you know I was awake?”

“I just did.”

My brows rose. “Care to elaborate?”

“I can’t explain it better than that.” He brushed severalstrands of hair back from his face. “I just knew you were awake, so I woke up.”

“That’s…different.”

“Is it?” The bed shifted as Ash rolled onto his side to faceme. “Want to tell me what one of those things you were thinking about was?”

I started to tell him but stopped. “It’s not importantenough to keep you awake.”

“Now I’m the one who gets to disagree.” Ash’s arm camearound my waist. “If it’s important enough to keep you awake, it’s importantenough for me to know.”

Gods.

That statement wasn’t just sweet. It was perfect.

“Liessa?”

Drawing in a shallow breath, I plucked out what felt mostimportant at the moment. It likely wasn’t, but it mattered to me. “If we cannotprevent a full-scale war, what kind of damage could we be looking at?”

“A lot of energy is created when Primalsfight, which builds up in the area,” he answered instead of asking why I hadbeen thinking of that in the middle of the night. “It disperses, spreadingthroughout the realms. Just using the eather in themortal realm can have an impact, depending on how much is expended.” His coldhand moved over the blanket and across my hand in smooth, slow circles. “Iliseeum is heavily warded and has been since the time ofthe Ancients. Those wards are tied to the Primal of each Court. As long as thePrimal remains standing, the Courts are mostly protected, but the area wherethe Primals fight will sustain damage.”

“Like in Dalos,” I said,remembering how both fights had cracked walls and leveled trees. “And themortal realm?” I knew the answer. I knew the answers to all of these questions.“It can manifest in several ways.”

“The release of energy, if big enough, can create tsunamis,earthquakes, and violent storms,” he said. “The severity depends on how intensethe fight is. If a Primal falls without another being able to rise? You’relooking at all of those things but amplified.”

“Gods.” The muscles in my neck tightened. “Where would theimpact hit? Across all the kingdoms?”

His hand stilled briefly. “Your foresight didn’t tell youwhat would happen?”

“No,” I whispered. There was nothing but silence then. Mythroat dried. “I don’t know why. It has nothing to do with me or the Fatesunless…”

Ash was silent for a moment. “Unless it does.”

I closed my eyes. “Meaning it will happen.”

“We don’t know that.” Ash’s hand began to move again.“Remember what Holland said about threads. There is more than one way thingscan play out.”

I knew that, but the fact that it was even a possibilityhorrified me. As did the knowledge that every decision, action, reaction, andinaction, no matter how small, could drastically change things.

“Nothing is set in stone, liessa.”His lips brushed my temple. “We are proof of that. Don’t forget.”

“I won’t, but there is still a chance. And I want to warnEzra. Because even if we prevent a war…” I didn’t need to finish. Ash knewthere would be a fight, no matter what. “Lasania is acoastal kingdom.”

“You’re the true Primal of Life.” Ash’s leg curled under theblankets. The short, rough hairs of his leg tickled mine. “If you wish to warnthe mortal realm, you can.”

“I know, but I want your advice,” I told him. “Being in aposition to make these kinds of decisions is new to me. And even if it wasn’t,I wouldn’t—I don’t—want to be the only one deciding. Especially since my desirecomes from a purely emotional place. Plus, even though warning them feelsright, what if it causes unnecessary panic?”

“I think that is a risk, but you have to weigh that againstwhat you already know. There will be disruption to the mortals’ lives,” hesaid. “I think it’s fine to warn them.”

Relieved that he thought so, some of the tightness easedfrom my muscles. “When do you want to do it?”

“When do you want to do it?” he countered.

“Tomorrow?”

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